1. |
- Lundström, Sebastian, et al.
(author)
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Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Violent Criminality: A Sibling Control Study
- 2014
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - Stockholm : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-3432 .- 0162-3257. ; 44:11, s. 2707-2716
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The longitudinal relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and violent criminality has been extensively documented, while long-term effects of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), tic disorders (TDs), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) on criminality have been scarcely studied. Using population-based registers of all child and adolescent mental health services in Stockholm, we identified 3,391 children, born 1984-1994, with neurodevelopmental disorders, and compared their risk for subsequent violent criminality with matched controls. Individuals with ADHD or TDs were at elevated risk of committing violent crimes, no such association could be seen for ASDs or OCD. ADHD and TDs are risk factors for subsequent violent criminality, while ASDs and OCD are not associated with violent criminality.
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2. |
- Achermann, Sheila, et al.
(author)
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Updating Expectations about Unexpected Object Motion in Infants Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- 2021
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Nature. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 51:11, s. 4186-4198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In typical development, infants form predictions about future events based on incoming sensory information, which is essential for perception and goal-directed action. It has been suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make predictions differently compared to neurotypical individuals. We investigated how infants who later received an ASD diagnosis and neurotypical infants react to temporarily occluded moving objects that violate initial expectations about object motion. Our results indicate that infants regardless of clinical outcome react similarly to unexpected object motion patterns, both in terms of gaze shift latencies and pupillary responses. These findings indicate that the ability to update representations about such regularities in light of new information may not differ between typically developing infants and those with later ASD.
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4. |
- Afsharnejad, Bahareh, et al.
(author)
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Cross-cultural adaptation to Australia of the KONTAKT© Social Skills Group Training Program for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder : A feasibility study
- 2020
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 50, s. 4297-4316
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated the feasibility and cultural validity of KONTAKT©, a manualised social skills group training, in improving the social functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). KONTAKT© was delivered to 17 adolescents (mage = 14.09, SDage = 1.43; 70% male) with ASD over sixteen 90 min sessions. A pre-test post-test design evaluated changes in personally meaningful social goals, symptom severity, quality of life, interpersonal efficacy, social anxiety, loneliness, and facial emotion recognition at pre, post and 3 months follow-up. Focus groups were conducted post intervention. Findings indicate that KONTAKT© may support Australian adolescents with ASD in achieving their personally meaningful social goals. This study resulted in finalisation of KONTAKT© in preparation for evaluation of its efficacy in a randomised controlled trial (Australian New Zealand Clinical Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12617001117303, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03294668).
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5. |
- Afsharnejad, B., et al.
(author)
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“I Met Someone Like Me!” : Autistic Adolescents and Their Parents’ Experience of the KONTAKT® Social Skills Group Training
- 2022
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 52, s. 1458-1477
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study captured the experiences of 35 autistic adolescents and their parents after completing a 16-session variant of social skills group training KONTAKT® (ACTRN12617001117303). Semi-structured interviews explored participants' and relatives' perceptions of KONTAKT® and associated social outcomes. Adolescents were classified as either high (HR, n = 23) or low (LR, n = 12) responders based on the primary outcome effects during the previous trial. Thematic analysis revealed that both HR and LR participants their parents were satisfied with KONTAKT®, noting consistent patterns of improvement in adolescents' social understanding, communication, relationships, and empowerment, although positive reports were more frequent among HR than LR groups. This study enhances the understanding of the impact of SSGT, which is key in improving their content, principles, and administration.
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6. |
- Afsharnejad, Bahareh, et al.
(author)
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The Methodological Quality and Intervention Fidelity of Randomised Controlled Trials Evaluating Social Skills Group Programs in Autistic Adolescents : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
- 2024
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 54, s. 1281-1316
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A systematic review and meta-analysis were utilised to explore the methodological quality, program fidelity, and efficacy of social skills group programs (SSGPs) aiming to support autistic adolescents in navigating their everyday social worlds. The study evaluated the methodological quality and theoretical fidelity of studies, with a random effect meta-analysis conducted to summarise the overall efficacy of SSGP and its effect on social communication and interaction, behavioural/emotional challenges, adaptive functioning, and autism characteristics. Although findings from the 18 identified studies indicated an adjusted medium overall effect with these programs successfully supporting autistic adolescents’ socialisation needs (g = 0. 60, p < 0.001), most studies demonstrated medium to low program fidelity despite their good methodological quality. Given the significant heterogeneity of SSGPs and variations in the design and measurement frameworks of efficacy studies, understanding the generalisability of the findings of this research is unclear.
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7. |
- Agebjorn, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Association Between Autism and PTSD Among Adult Psychiatric Outpatients
- 2024
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In: JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeAutism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) occurs in 1-1.5% of the general population and possibly in up to 20% of psychiatric outpatients. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs at some point in life in 4% of the general population and in 14-20% of psychiatric outpatients. Knowledge about how PTSD manifests in people with ASD is important in order for it to be correctly diagnosed and intervened for.MethodsThis study investigated the relationship between PTSD and autism among adult psychiatric outpatients (N = 90) of whom 63 had ASD or subthreshold ASD based on DSM-5 criteria. The study group was subjected to in-depth psychiatric assessments using validated instruments. Diagnosis of PTSD was made based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).ResultsThere was a trend towards PTSD being more common among participants with ASD compared to participants without ASD, although significant differences could not be shown in this small sample. 21% of the ASD group had current PTSD, compared to 4% of the study group without ASD. There were no differences between the groups regarding exposure to trauma. There was a trend towards a relationship between number of autism symptoms and hyperarousal symptoms in PTSD. Conversely, the PTSD symptom of irritability/outbursts of anger, was significantly associated with number of autism symptoms.ConclusionsA subgroup of psychiatric outpatients with ASD also suffer from PTSD. Hyperarousal symptoms are possibly more prevalent in the presentation of PTSD in individuals/patients with ASD compared to those without ASD.
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8. |
- Alabaf, Setareh, et al.
(author)
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Correction to : Physical health in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
- 2019
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 49:1, s. 96-97
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in Fig. 2 part labels, the label "d" was incorrectly labelled as "c" and the subsequent labels should be corrected as d, e, and f. The corrected Fig. 2 is given below.
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9. |
- Alabaf, Setareh, et al.
(author)
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Physical health in children with neurodevelopmental disorders
- 2019
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 49:1, s. 83-95
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- With increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) attention has been drawn to these children's physical health. We aimed to identify the prevalence of defined physical problems (epilepsy, migraine, asthma, cancer, diabetes, psoriasis, lactose intolerance, celiac disease, diarrhea, constipation, daytime enuresis, encopresis) in a nationwide population of 9- and 12-year-old twins subdivided into those with and without indications of NDDs. Parents of 28,058 twins participated in a well-validated telephone interview regarding their children's mental health and answered questions about their physical problems. The results indicate a high rate of physical problems in children with NDDs, particularly in those with indications of the presence of combinations of several NDDs.
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10. |
- Albrecht, Matthew A., et al.
(author)
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Brief Report: Visual Acuity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- 2014
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 44:9, s. 2369-2374
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, there has been heightened interest in suggestions of enhanced visual acuity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) which was sparked by evidence that was later accepted to be methodologically flawed. However, a recent study that claimed children with ASD have enhanced visual acuity (Brosnan et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 42:2491–2497, 2012) repeated a critical methodological flaw by using an inappropriate viewing distance for a computerised acuity test, placing the findings in doubt. We examined visual acuity in 31 children with ASD and 33 controls using the 2 m 2000 Series Revised Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study chart placed at twice the conventional distance to better evaluate possible enhanced acuity. Children with ASD did not demonstrate superior acuity. The current findings strengthen the argument that reports of enhanced acuity in ASD are due to methodological flaws and challenges the reported association between visual acuity and systemising type behaviours.
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